Under the Stars
by Rosa Louise
Summary: A short, but sweet, Jack and Kate love story. My very first fanfic, please R&R!


**Disclaimer: **I don't own Lost...just a fan! I believe the current owners are doing a fantastic job. My only hope is that sometime we get some REAL JATE going.

**Under the stars**

_A Jack and Kate Love Story_

_One year._

The phrase reverberated in her head.

_Has it really been that long?_

Kate pondered, lost in her thoughts, while walking along the sandy shore. "This is the longest I've stayed in one place since only God knows when," thought Kate, "So much has changed. I'm not on the run 24/7, I have real friends, and then there's…Jack."

_Jack._

Merely thinking his name brought shivers down her spine and made her heartbeat quicken.

_Jack._

The one man she knew that could be worth her while.

The one man that didn't just want her body, her sex.

The one man that truly cared for her.

The one man she loved.

_Jack_

The one man who she'll never have.

Every time she walked along the beach, her thoughts always strayed to him. Somehow it always comes down to Jack. He always knows what to say to make her feel better. He makes her laugh. And now, it's different. She felt like she ruined their friendship, because she gave into instinct. Kate's instincts saved her while she was on the run. But who was she running from here? There was nothing to run from except for her feelings.

_But_ _look where they got me now._

First time she gives in to feelings, she goes and kisses Jack. "Then I run, because that's all I'm good at. Running away." She thought.

_But what if I didn't murder Wayne? _

_What if there was no need for me to run? _

_What if I didn't end up in Australia? _

_What if the marshal didn't catch me? _

These questions ran through her head like lightening.

_What if we didn't crash?_

Kate would have never met Jack.

A flower caught Kate's eye, a beautiful rose. "What's a rose doing here?" she mused. "It's supposed to be a tropical island." Well, if there were polar bears and black stallions running around, then there probably could be roses too.

_This island is so strange. It feels like we were all meant to come here._

Kate bent to pick the flower. She brought it to her nose, and its sweet scent enveloped her. She sat down in the sand and began to pluck off the crimson petals. One by one they floated to the ground.

_He loves me._

_He loves me not._

_He loves me._

_He loves me not. _

_He loves me._

_He loves me not. _

_He loves me._

_He loves me not. _

_He loves…_

"Kate?"

Kate started at the sound of his voice. "Jack! What're you doing here?"

"I just came by to…check on you guys at the beach." Jack answered.

"In the middle of the night?" she asked incredulously.

He gave her a half smile that was only for her and said nothing.

_Nothing._

That's all that they shared between them ever since they kissed. Awkward silences. Just like the one that pressed upon them now.

"So umm…how are you and Ana Lucia?"

There had been talk on the island that Jack and the island's brand new murderer/hottie, Ana-Lucia, were going to share a cave. "I guess he found a new Eve," thought Kate sadly.

He gave her a sharp glance, mortifying her for about a second, but asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, aren't you guys moving in together?"

_You seem to have a soft spot for murderesses, Jack._

"She just moved to the caves, Kate, it doesn't mean that she's moving in with me. Why the sudden interest?"

Kate shrugged. If he was going to play this game, then Kate could play too. He wasn't getting anything out of her.

"So how's Sawyer? Is he enjoying his role as sheriff?"

Kate glared at him. She could hear the sarcasm in his voice, and the spite. Whether it was for her because she chose him as a companion, or for Sawyer himself, or for both, Kate could not tell. Either way, his contempt hurt her, more than anything.

She hated him, because he made her feel.

But she loved him, because he made her forget about running, if only for a few moments.

She never used to care what people thought about her. But why did she care what Jack thought? She didn't need him.

_Stop lying to yourself. You love him._

In the silence that seemed longer than a lifetime, their eyes somehow found each other in the darkness, and locked. The air was filled with things unsaid, things that had built up over the past year. Kate cried inside and little did she know that Jack couldn't stand it either.

_How does she do this to me?_

She made him feel like he never needed to do anything for anyone else anymore.

That he didn't have to save people to be acceptable in her eyes.

He loved her.

From the moment she had stitched up his wound, to this moment he happened upon her sitting on the jungle floor, surrounded by scarlet petals, he was in love with her, deeply, madly, and truly.

In that second, as their eyes seemed to penetrate the other's,they wept, but not a single tear fell from their eyes.

The island cried for them.

A torrent of rain came rushing down, and in about a minute Kate and Jack were drenched. Without another word Jack walked back into the jungle, and Kate started to head for her tent, pushing through the leaves. Then she heard footsteps coming back behind her, his swift gait all too familiar.

"Kate!" Jack called through the rain.

She turned around, her eyes searching him from behind the walls she had built around herself.

"Why did you do it?" His hazel eyes begged for understanding.

"What?"

"Why did you run away from me? Why?" he pleaded, emotion uncharacteristically permeating his voice, weakening her, destroying all her defenses.

The rain poured over them for what seemed like eternity as Kate sought for answer, but found none.

The unshed tears, all the unsaid things begged to be released, Kate instinctively checked them.

_Damn it._

Her instincts again, holding her back. She wanted to be open, to have no more secrets, to let go all of her pretenses. Kate realized that she was already in jail. She was imprisoned by her own instincts, and only Jack held the keys. Only he could release her from the cage she had built for herself. And within the next moment, Jack did just that.

"I'm in love with you, Kate. Can't you see that? I've been in love with you, ever since you fixed me up after we crashed, I was in love with you when you kissed me, and I'm in love with you now."

Now tears flooded from her eyes, finally free, just like Kate.

"I love you, Jack."

And then he kissed her, with all the pent up passion that had been boiling inside of them for all those longs months. His hands pressing her face to his, her fingers stroking his neck, the kiss deepened. Their lips molded into one another as though they were more natural together than apart. Jack moved his hands down to her back and held Kate closer to him, and her arms held him even closer, her hands running through his short hair. Time became meaningless as their lips met again and again and again, each time better than the last. A gradually their impassioned kisses slowed, until at last their eyes met, and all walls around their hearts finally came down.

He leaned his forehead onto hers, their hands interlocked, and he gave her a small, sweet smile, full of love and of promises that she knew he would keep.

"You're not going to run?" His whisper barely masked his disbelief.

Kate kissed him lightly and whispered, "Not anymore."

Jack gestured his head toward the beach and offered her his hand. Kate smiled and took it, leaning her head on his shoulder as they walked along the sandy shore, where amazingly, Kate had only been walking on not half and hour ago.

The silence between them now, was anything but awkward. It was full of joy, and pleasant disbelief that that they were finally together, and open to each other. They talked for hours, about anything, favorite foods, music, and more serious things, like Jack's marriage. But the hardest thing for Kate was finally telling Jack what she did. He listened without interrupting, and wasn't judgmental as Kate expected. Jack loved Kate for the person he had come to know, and she realized the Kate Jack knew, was the real her.

"Let's rest here," Jack suggested, gesturing towards a spot on the beach. Kate agreed, followed him, and sat down. He rested his back against a tree, and Kate let her head rest on Jack's strong chest. He draped his arm around her, holding her close to him. Kate looked at him, her eyes finally betraying every emotion she ever felt for him, and Jack met her gaze, his eyes equally expressive. He put his fingers under her chin, tilting her face to his, and their lips met in one slow, sweet kiss. Then Jack laid his head on Kate's, holding her hand, with a contented smile on his face. They fell asleep in each other's arms, under the stars.

The end

* * *

A/N This ismy first fanfic! I've visited many of the other Lost fanficwriters and reviewed under the alias RoSePiinK.Please R & R! I'll be sure to return the favor, in one way or another.Please and Thank You! 


End file.
